by Angel Smits
No one opened the packages, just looked at them curiously. Addie stood beside the captain’s chair that was one of the originals. The spindles on the back matched.
“My...friend Marcus—the guy who bought Mom’s house—found a couple boxes in the garage rafters.”
“I thought we got everything,” DJ said.
“Yeah. You sure they were ours?” Wyatt asked.
“Oh, yeah, they’re ours.” She grinned, then realized she had to get this done quickly, before she started crying. “These were Dad’s.” She put her box on the table, not opening it yet.
“When I was about twelve, I wished for a magic wand.” Everyone laughed. “Dad promised he’d make one for me. I didn’t think he did. But—” She opened the lid of the box. “Look. And it matches my chair. Yours, too, Wyatt.” She held it up against the chair back.
Mandy gasped. “Oh, my gosh.” Her eyes sparkled. “I’m guessing it doesn’t really work.”
Addie gave the wand a flourish in the air. “Nope. None of you turned into toads.” She looked around at them all. “That’s what I wanted the wand for when I was twelve.” They all laughed.
Then, as if everyone realized it at the same time, they looked at their packages.
“He made something for all of us,” she said. “Not all of them are finished, though.” Her voice wavered on the end. “Go ahead. Open them.”
The sound of paper ripping filled the room as they each opened theirs. Gasps and laughter filled the room.
“Oh, Addie, this is wonderful.” Mandy did just like Marcus had done, opening and closing her treasure box while Tara looked at the little spoons with tear-filled eyes.
“He did amazing work.” Wyatt ran his thumb over the horse’s mane before showing it to Emily.
“Guess Dad didn’t think I’d make much of a cowboy.” DJ laughed, looking at the definitely-not-a-six-shooter gun.
“What about Jason?” Wyatt asked.
She decided she could rewrap it. She opened the package, passing the wooden book around for them to all look at.
“How perfect.” Tara fingered the detail of the pages. “He’ll love it.”
“Thank you, Addie.” Mandy gave her a hug. “That was a really nice surprise.”
“Marcus actually suggested it. I was going to save them for Christmas.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” Tara said. Morgan was seated beside her, and the dainty spoons looked so small in his big hands. He was nodding in agreement, his hand resting on Tara’s shoulder. Addie smiled. Wyatt had been right. They hadn’t been able to scare him away.
“Thank Marcus for us, would you?” DJ said. “He could have just as easily tossed these in the trash.”
“He’d never do that.” Just thinking about him brought a smile to her lips, and for the first time, the pleasure of being with her family dimmed. She wished he was here. Or she was there. It wouldn’t matter.
Not for the first time, she was disappointed the wand didn’t work. If it did, she’d wave it and take herself to him.
Just then, her phone rang, and she looked at the screen. Marcus’s number. She looked at the narrow piece of wood. No. It was only coincidence. She thumbed the phone on. “Hello?”
“Addie? Thank God. I—” Marcus’s voice wasn’t happy. Near panic came loud and clear through the phone.
“What’s the matter?” She stepped away from her overly observant family.
“Is Ryan by chance with you?”
“Uh, no.” She looked around, catching Mandy’s eye. “I’m at my brother’s ranch. I came here last night.”
“He said he was headed to Dex’s.” She could almost hear him shoving his fingers through his hair. “He said he’d be home by dinnertime.”
Dinner was long past. “No. I—” She swallowed. Mandy stared, frowning as she listened to the one-sided conversation. “He’s not at Dex’s house?”
“I called. There was no answer. When I drove by, the house was dark. I took a shot and thought maybe he was with you.” Marcus cursed softly.
“No. I’m sorry.” She tried to think of where he could be. Had he said anything when she’d seen him at school in Friday? Nothing came to mind.
“I gotta go,” Marcus said.
“Wait. What can I do?” Silence came over the line. Finally, his defeated sigh came through the line. “I—I don’t know.” Something like sadness weighed down his words. “I don’t know. Carolyn always handled this type of stuff.”
“I’ll call some of the parents. I’ll see what I can learn.”
“Thank you.” His relief was impossible to ignore. “I’ll start with the guys on the team. Keep me posted.”
“I will.” Despite her panic, she realized he needed reassurance, too. She was good at that. She’d given plenty of that over the years. It was her forte.
She wasn’t sure when he’d disconnected. But the screen was blank. She thumbed it back on and started to call. The best part of working for a small school was the close-knit community it created. Small-town closeness in a big city.
“Hello?” a woman’s voice answered.
“Melissa? It’s Addie. One of the kids is missing. Can you help?”
“Of course. Who?”
“Ryan Skylar. His dad hasn’t seen him since this afternoon.”
“I’ll start the phone tree. We’ll find him, Addie. Don’t worry.”
The reassurances Melissa sent through the phone were those of a parent who understood the fear, reassuring the principal of the school. It was appropriate. But Addie needed so much more.
While there was a lot of speculation at school, no one knew how she really felt. No one except Ryan and Marcus knew the truth of what was happening between her and Marcus. And did they even know? Heck, she hadn’t a real clue. She looked at Mandy and watched her image waver. She hadn’t told anyone in her family, either.
Several sets of eyes turned to her. Instead of explaining what she didn’t understand herself, she left the room and went into the den. She had several calls to make.
Please, let him be okay. Or put real magic in this damned wand, she prayed.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MARCUS WANTED TO throw something. He wanted to shove his fist through the nearest wall. Instead, he calmly walked to the back door and stared out. Maybe by staring at the impending darkness he’d see his son coming home. Ryan wasn’t at Dex’s. He wasn’t at Addie’s house. So where had he disappeared to?
Keeping busy helped as Marcus put his phone on speaker and dialed. He started by calling the Silvanos again. Still no answer. He left another message, hoping they’d get it soon and call back. It didn’t mean Ryan wasn’t with them. They just weren’t at their house.
Next, he called Ryan’s baseball coach. Clint Lawson was a good guy, if a bit hard on the kids at practice.
“Yeah,” the man answered.
“Clint. This is Marcus Skylar. Have you seen Ryan this afternoon?”
“No. Sorry. Something wrong?’
“I’m not sure.” Marcus took a deep breath, sweeping toast crumbs off the counter to distract himself. He pulled open the dishwasher and started unloading the clean dishes Ryan was supposed to have put away. “He went to a friend’s house earlier and hasn’t come home.”
“I’ll call around to the boys. See what I can find out.”
“Thanks.” The silence of the room seemed heavy after he disconnected the call. Now what? Ryan’s coach was calling the team. Addie was calling the parents at school. Marcus stood there, feeling nearly as helpless as he had the months Carolyn was sick.
He cursed and gave the cabinet a good kick. Thank God, they were sturdy old cabinets, not the cheap fiberboard they used in houses nowadays. He hung his head.
He finished the dishes, slowly, methodically, focusing. Should he call the police? He had no idea what to d
o. His gut twisted and hurt.
Finally, finished with cleaning the kitchen, he had his emotions somewhat under control. When his phone rang, he nearly dropped it in his haste to answer. He didn’t recognize the number. Not Ryan’s. “Hello?”
“D-Dad?”
Relief nearly sent Marcus to his knees. “Ryan. Thank God. Where are you?”
“I—I don’t know.” Thirteen-year-old boys caught between child and man didn’t cry. At least they pretended not to. Marcus remembered being that age.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Ryan was silent for a long time. “I—I—Dex’s cousin has some horses he said we could ride. We went out to see ’em and...and look around. But I took a shortcut home.”
“Ryan, you don’t know any shortcuts. We’ve only lived here a few months.” Keeping his anger and frustration under control was a challenge. “Whose phone are you using? Is your battery dead again?”
“Yeah. I tried using the GPS. Musta used it too much. That’s why I got lost.”
Ryan was always running his phone battery down. Marcus took a deep breath, trying to beat back the angry panic. Ryan’s voice was calmer now that they’d connected.
“Where are you now?” He heard Ryan talking to someone. Was Dex there? Marcus groaned and wished he could crawl through the phone. “Who are you talking to?”
“Charlie. My bike tire went flat. He was working on his truck, so I thought he’d probably know how to fix a flat tire.
“Put him on the phone, Ryan.”
“Yello,” a gruff voice came through the phone.
“Where is my son?”
“My place.”
He was going to deck the man when he finally got to his son. He’d teach the SOB a lesson for being a smart-ass. “And that would be where?”
“Out on Blackthorne Road. Head out past the Equestrian Arena. I’m the house at the end of the dirt road. I’d bring your boy home, but my battery on my truck’s out. I was working on it when he got here.”
“Is there an address?” Marcus could put it in his phone and find the place. He didn’t know this town any better than Ryan did.
“Nope. Not that I use. Got post office boxes out here. Big salmon-colored house—blame the missus for that. Can’t miss it. Don’t y’all worry. I’ll keep your boy safe here with me and my missus.”
How the hell had Ryan gotten all the way out there? That wasn’t a shortcut home. Ryan had some serious explaining to do. Once he got him safely home. “And who are you?”
“Name’s Charlie Ferguson.”
“Can I call you back at this number?”
“Yep. Only one I got.”
“I’m on my way.” Marcus tried to hide his fear, tried to project strength and control through the phone. He let the man hang up, let go of the only connection he had to his son. His heart sank as his stomach turned. There hadn’t been any threats. Nothing to make him this concerned.
Addie would know where this place was. He wished she was here. He was halfway through dialing her number before he realized it. She answered on the first ring. “Did you find him?” She didn’t bother with any greetings.
“I think so.” Why did hearing her voice make it easier to breathe? “He just called. Said he took a shortcut home from some place Dex took him to see horses and got lost.”
“Oh, thank God. I was imagining the worst.” She sounded as out of breath as he felt. “Is he on the way home? Are you going to go get him? Where is he?”
“He’s with someone named Charlie Ferguson who lives out past the equestrian arena? A salmon-colored house?”
Silence was the only answer.
“Addie, help me out here. I don’t know where that is.” His panic returned.
“If I were there, I could get him.” Her voice was full of regret. “I’m too far away.”
“Addie, I’m perfectly capable of doing it.” He clenched his teeth, trying to swallow his frustration. He grabbed his keys and headed out to the garage. “Tell me how to get there.”
“I—” She paused. “Head toward Main Street.” He pulled out of the drive. “When you get to the railroad tracks, take a left.” She sounded out of breath. Was she moving or just anxious? He ached to know. Needed to talk to her. Wanted her here.
He followed her directions. “Okay, just past the tracks. Now where?”
“Go past the apple orchard. There’s a fork in the road, go right.”
He kept driving, feeling like he was working a puzzle. Thank goodness, he wasn’t having to do it alone. “Talk to me, Addie. I need to hear a voice.”
“What about the radio?”
“It’s not the same,” he whispered. “Just tell me something. Anything.”
She was silent for a long minute. “Are you worried or angry?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. What was he doing all the way out here? I know we moved to Texas, but he’s never been interested in horses before.”
“You’ll have to ask him. Have you reached the fork yet?”
“Just getting there. Then what?”
“There’s a dirt road up ahead. It shouldn’t be far. The house is just a short way down the road.”
“I see it. It’s getting dark.” He didn’t see any lights, no outline of a house, nothing. Just trees that lined the road so close and tight that he couldn’t see beyond them.
“You’re almost there,” she said, her voice a reassurance in the growing darkness.
He rounded the corner and saw the big house. “There it is!” The front light was on and lights were glowing in the front windows. “I’ll call you later.” He hung up and jumped out of the car almost before he’d put it in Park. “Ryan,” he yelled. “Where are you?”
“I’m here, Dad.” The boy came out the front door. An older man stepped out onto the worn porch behind him.
Ryan turned and smiled at the old man. “Thanks.” The old man nodded and smiled at Ryan. Nothing to fear. No risk. No threat.
Why didn’t Marcus’s stomach stop churning? Why didn’t his heart slow down? Maybe it would when he got Ryan home. Or maybe after he got done hugging him. It felt so good to feel his boy’s thin shoulders under his arm.
Once they were in the car, and Marcus had put the now-fixed bike in the back, Ryan finished thanking the Fergusons. He handed Ryan the phone. “Call Addie. She helped me get here. I think you scared her as much as you did me.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. Dex showed me where—”
“And where is Dex?” Marcus demanded.
“He stayed at his cousins’ for dinner. That’s why I took the shortcut home.” Ryan made it all sound so logical.
“Why didn’t you stay? All you had to do was call and ask.”
“I told you my phone was dead. I thought I could get home in time.”
Marcus’s head hurt. “We aren’t going to discuss this now.” He looked away from the road for an instant, his anger finally coming to the surface. “Was it Dex’s idea or yours to lie to me about where you were going?”
Ryan sat silent. “It’s not Dex’s fault.” He stuck up for his friend, which Marcus would normally admire, if he weren’t so angry. “He suggested it, but I did it. I’m sorry.” He looked out the window but didn’t dial the phone.
“Call Addie,” Marcus snapped.
Ryan lifted the phone and dialed. Even though the phone wasn’t on speaker, the close quarters of the car made it so Marcus could hear her. Her voice was breathless when she answered, her worry apparent. He wanted to ease that for her.
“Did you find him, Marcus?”
“Hi, Addie,” Ryan said.
“Oh, thank God.” She took a deep breath. “Where were you?”
“I got lost coming home from seeing some horses with Dex. I’m sorry I scared you.”
“I’m just glad you’re ok
ay.” Her voice broke, and Marcus had the feeling she was crying. Damn it. His heart hurt. She was too far away, and he couldn’t ease the pain for her.
“I’m okay.”
“I’m glad. And Ryan?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t ever do that again. I’m not sure who’d kill you first, me or your dad.”
Marcus laughed. Dear God, he loved that woman.
He almost missed the next turn as that realization suddenly hit him.
* * *
THE NEXT DAY, Ryan came into her office slowly, and quietly. He didn’t usually come to her office, though they saw each other nearly every school day. And on the weekends, if she counted the time she spent with his dad.
Normally, though, she’d take her afternoon stroll to the bus stop, and she’d talk with him there. She’d talked with Marcus the night before and had told him she’d do what she could to find out what was going on.
He was at a loss, and maybe Ryan would share information with her that he wouldn’t his dad.
“You want to talk to me about something?” she asked Ryan, not really looking up from her work. She didn’t want him to be overwhelmed and think he was getting extra attention for something that had scared his dad half to death.
“Maybe.” He slumped in the chair across from her. Most kids didn’t want to end up in the principal’s office. She hid her smile. Their friendship had grown since that week in detention, and the times she’d been at his house outside of school.
“Go ahead. I’m listening.” She crossed her arms over the paperwork and looked at him.
“My dad’s mad at me.”
She knew that. “Yeah. I think he has a pretty good reason.”
“Yeah.” Ryan sat quietly for a while. “I know you and my dad really like each other. And I like that—it’s just, weird, you know.”
“I understand that.” It was weird for her, too. “Is there something you need, Ryan?”
“When dad was mad at me—you know, before—Mom used to talk to him, and you know, explain things.”
Addie stared at Ryan, a bit worried about what he was asking. “You want me to talk to your dad so you don’t get in trouble for what you did?”